Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 12 Must kill!

Cao Qin and Cao Mian hurried back to the palace with the token and mobilized a group of troops to go to the Honglu Temple.

There are only a hundred people in Yidu, which is not a large number, but they are the palace guards.

Although he had the official token, Rong Xian, who was on duty today, still reported the news after learning about it.

The emperor was discussing the Liao Kingdom's envoy with a group of important ministers. He was shocked to hear the news and thought that Zhao Xing was in danger.

However, he quickly realized that if Zhao Xing was in danger, Cao An would not have failed to report it, nor would he have mobilized only one army.

So he asked someone to find out the reason and continued to discuss the matter with his ministers.

However, what they discussed was not the fact that someone from the Liao envoy group had killed an ordinary citizen of the Song Dynasty.

The issue under discussion was whether or not to agree to the Liao Kingdom's request and pay the annual tribute in advance.

If payment is made in the form of grain, the price of grain has already risen in Liao due to the severe drought.

The Liao Kingdom would definitely not agree to convert the annual tribute into food and fodder based on the Liao Kingdom's grain prices.

But if the payment is made with the Song Dynasty's grain prices, the Song Dynasty would not be willing to do so.

After all, grain is not as easy to transport as silver, money and silk.

What the emperor and his ministers discussed was how to satisfy the Liao Kingdom and save the Song Dynasty some money.

As they were discussing, a eunuch came in and reported: "Your Majesty, the Minister of the Honglu Temple wants to see you!"

The emperor was stunned when he heard this, and thought that the Liao envoy had made some other requests, so he summoned the Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

After a while, the Minister of Honglu Temple Ge Changqing walked in hurriedly with an anxious look on his face.

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened. The two sons of the Duke of Wei came to the Honglu Temple with the imperial guards, holding your Majesty's token, and said that they were following the orders of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to capture the Liao man who killed the civilians. The Liao envoys were unwilling to hand over the person, and the two sides have been in a tense standoff." Ge Changqing said anxiously without waiting for the emperor to ask.

"what?"

Upon hearing this, the emperor stood up and shouted angrily, "Nonsense! Come, tell Cao Qin and Cao Mian to bring back the imperial guards, and order the prince to get back to the palace immediately!"

"Yes!"

Eunuch Liu, who was standing beside him, quickly responded and retreated.

He arranged for someone to go to the Honglu Temple to convey the emperor's order, while he personally went out of the palace to find Zhao Xing.

……

Zhao Xing was still waiting in the Kaifeng government office for Cao Qin and his men to bring the person back, but instead of waiting for the person, he waited for eunuch Liu who was beside his father.

When Zhao Xing learned that his father had summoned him back to the palace, he knew without hesitation that it was because he had sent people to the Honglu Temple to arrest someone.

Although he failed to personally deal with the Liao murderer, Zhao Xing did not dare to openly disobey his father's order and had to meet with Eunuch Liu in the palace.

When Cao An arrived outside Longtu Pavilion, he stopped, but the eunuch at the door said, "Your Majesty has ordered that Duke Wei go in with Your Highness."

Upon hearing this, Cao An followed Zhao Xing into the Longtu Pavilion.

"My son, I pay my respects to my father!"

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

The emperor glared at Zhao Xing, then looked at Cao An and said, "I asked you to protect Fu'er from leaving the palace because I trusted you, but you didn't stop him when he was young and ignorant. You even played along with him?"

"I am guilty, please punish me, Your Majesty!"

Cao An felt very aggrieved. After all, Zhao Xing took out the official token. What could he do?
However, he did not dare to refute and knelt on one knee to apologize.

"Father, this is all my idea. It has nothing to do with my uncle!" Zhao Xing said in a deep voice.

"I haven't come to settle accounts with you yet, but you stand up on your own." The official said angrily: "Do you know your fault?"

He originally wanted to simply punish Cao An on the grounds that Zhao Xing was young and ignorant, and the matter would be over.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Xing actually stood up and took the responsibility on himself.

"Your son is right!" said Zhao Xing.

"Asshole! You ordered people to capture an envoy of a country, which could lead to a war between the two countries. And you still don't know you are wrong?" the official shouted.

"Father, the prince is guilty of the same crime as the common people. The Liao people beat up the people of our Song Dynasty in the street, causing them to die from their injuries. The people are outraged. How can we let him go unpunished just because he is a Liao person?" Zhao Xing said calmly.

"Did I say I don't care? The Liao envoys injured the people, so they need to pay compensation." The emperor said. "Father, they didn't injure people, they killed people. Killing someone means paying with your life. This is a principle that ordinary people know!" Zhao Xing corrected him.

"Then what do you want to do? Kill the person who did it? The Liao Kingdom is suffering from drought and food shortage now. If this little thing gives the Liao Kingdom an excuse to send troops, resulting in the loss of lives, is that what you want to see?" the official shouted.

Zhao Xing said calmly, "Father said this was just a small matter. If Liao sent troops because of this, it means Liao had the intention to send troops. Even if this incident did not happen, Liao would find other excuses to send troops. If Liao wants to fight, then fight. I, the Song Dynasty, have a million soldiers. Don't we dare to fight them?"

Cao An was kneeling behind and listening with his blood boiling, he almost wanted to ask for a fight.

The ancestor of the Cao family made great military achievements during the reigns of Taizu and Taizong, and was posthumously named king.

As a descendant of the Cao family, Cao An did not dare to compare himself with his ancestors, nor did he want to lose face for his ancestors, so he had always been a proponent of war.

However, civil officials now hold power and military generals have no say at all.

Zhao Xing's words really touched his heart.

"It's easy for you to talk about state affairs like a child. Do you think fighting a war is as simple as you think? The national treasury is empty now. Once the war breaks out, how long can it last?" the official shouted.

A hint of disappointment flashed in Zhao Xing's eyes when he heard this. He had always believed that the Song Dynasty's army was weak because it valued civil affairs over military affairs.

Now it seems that it was just an external reason. The real reason was that everyone from top to bottom was afraid of war.

Even after winning the war, one still has to pay tribute to the enemy. This is such a frustrating thing that even the Qing Dynasty has never done such a thing.

The Qing Dynasty ceded territory and paid compensation, but that was after they lost the war.

The official was right. The money earned from wars, whether it was tribute to the Liao Kingdom or annual tribute to Western Xia, seemed to be a lot, but in fact it might not be enough to support a war.

It seems like a good deal to spend this little money to keep the border peaceful and avoid war.

However, countries do not do business with each other, and whether they make a profit or a loss is determined by money.

The Song Dynasty's repeated concessions not only allowed the Liao Kingdom and the Western Xia to become more aggressive, but also made them feel that the Song Dynasty was weak and could be bullied.

It also makes those in the military who truly have a desire to serve their country feel disheartened.

Only then did Zhao Xing truly understand that the Song Dynasty was weak not because it valued culture over military, but because it had lost its soul.

The official looked at Zhao Xing's stubborn expression and sighed.

"Bo Zhong, you go back first." The official waved his hand at Cao An.

"I resign!"

Upon hearing this, Cao An stood up, saluted, and walked out.

"Fuer, come and sit next to your father." The emperor waved his hand.

Zhao Xing came to sit beside his father and said, "Father, although I am young, I know that blindly giving in will only make the other party take advantage of me."

"Are you very disappointed with your father?" the official asked.

"I dare not." Zhao Xing said quickly.

The emperor smiled and said, "The Treaty of Chanyuan had already been signed when I was born. When I was your age, I was also indignant about it. Later, when I was made the crown prince, I was determined to destroy the Liao Kingdom and pacify the Western Xia. However, after I really took power, I realized that I thought things were too simple. The court has no money. No matter whether we win or lose in a war, weapons, armor and equipment all need money to be made, recruiting soldiers costs money, and soldiers who die in battle need money to be compensated.

Later, when Xixia was founded, the government and the people suggested sending troops to attack it, but it ended in a great defeat. I have worked hard for many years, and the little money and grain I had saved have all been used up.

At that time, I understood that wars are fought for money and national strength. However, I have carefully studied the tax revenue and various expenditures since the founding of the country. The taxes collected are obviously much higher than when the country was founded, but the expenses are much greater, so that the income is almost not enough to cover the expenditure.

I then began to think of reforming the country and strengthening the country, but in the end I had to stop because it was too hasty and there was too much resistance.

I am very pleased that you can be so ambitious, but both Liao and Xixia are strong enemies. If we start fighting now, our national strength is insufficient, and winning will be meaningless. Instead of wasting national strength, it is better to solve the internal problems first, enrich the country and strengthen the army, which is the right thing to do. "

"Father, you are right, but have you ever thought about this? The reason why Liao and Western Xia did not attack Song was not because of the annual tribute, but because they were internally unstable and unable to send troops. I am not trying to take the initiative to provoke a war, I just want to take a tougher stance. There is a drought in Liao at this moment. If we give in, it will make Liao think that Song is afraid of them, which will only make them more unscrupulous and they may even send troops to invade the border and plunder." Zhao Xing said.

"Do you still want to kill the Liao people who killed the civilians?" asked the official.

"He must be killed!" Zhao Xing said firmly.

The emperor thought for a while and said, "Send a message to Rong Xian, and ask him to take people to the Honglu Temple to arrest the murderer of the Liao Kingdom who killed the people. If the Liao Kingdom envoys dare to stop them, arrest them all!"

"Yes!" Eunuch Liu responded and hurried out to pass on the order.

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(End of this chapter)